Кассандра Клэр - Draco Sinister

Ginny reached out and touched the scar on his left palm. "How did you and Harry get these?"

Draco looked at her. "Ron didn´t tell you?"

She shook her head.

Draco went back to looking at his shirt. "Accident with a sharp deck of playing cards," he said. "We don´t like to talk about it. Too painful."

Ginny made a face. "Do you know what the thing I hate about you is, Malfoy?"

He glanced up at grinned. "I am shocked," he said. "Shocked that there is only one thing you hate about me. I would have thought you had a list of thousands of grievances, possibly numbered."

Ginny suddenly felt her face twitch into a smile, and was horrified.

Why was she smiling at Draco Malfoy? This was bad. It suddenly occurred to her how this might look to Ron if he came in suddenly -

she was kneeling on the floor with a shirtless Draco Malfoy amid a tangle of sheets and blankets, and they were smiling at each other as if they were old friends.

"I'm getting Harry," she said hastily, and got to her feet, smoothing her nightdress down.

"Don't," he said. "Itś not that important."

"You're bleeding phantom blood," said Ginny. "I think this is worth waking Harry up for."

"Forget it," said Draco, and his tone brooked no argument. "Just get me another shirt, will you?"

"A shirt?" echoed Ginny, in disbelief.

"A shirt. You've got a lot of brothers, there must be plenty of clothes in this house."

Ginny tightened her lips into a narrow line, stalked out of the room, and returned with an object which she tossed into Draco's lap. It was one of Mrs. Weasley's famous sweaters.

"Pink," he said morosely, glaring at it. "I hate pink."

"Good night, Malfoy," said Ginny, and shut the door behind her.

Ginny and Ron were already awake when Harry came down to breakfast the next morning. He was a wearing one of the green sweaters that Mrs. Weasley had made for him years ago; it was too small on him now and the sleeves rode up over his thin wrists. He flopped down into the chair next to Ginny, picked up a spoon, and poked listlessly at the bowl of oatmeal that she slid across the table to him. Ron looked up briefly and nodded; he was busy reading the Daily Prophet.

"Any news?" asked Harry.

"Dementors are still missing," said Ron, around a mouthful of toast.

"There were some reports of them being spotted near a wizarding town to the south, but those were discredited." He snorted. "By Percy. Itś always Percy, isn´t it?"

Ginny shuddered. "Imagine seeing Dementors right in your own town," she said. "In your own front garden…"

They all looked anxiously out the window.

"Ginny, don´t," said Ron, irritably.

But Ginny had thought of something else she wanted to talk about.

"Harry," she said. "There's something wrong with Malfoy."

Ron and Harry glanced at her curiously. She was buttering a piece of toast and looking determined.

"Something more than what's usually wrong with him?" said Harry.

"Yes," said Ginny firmly. "Last night he was screaming so loudly in his sleep that it woke me up. I've never heard anyone scream like that before. And then, when I went into his bedroom, he was lying on the floor and there was blood all over his shirt."

"He was bleeding?" said Harry.

"You went into his bedroom?" said Ron, looking suddenly alarmed.

"Yes, and yes," said Ginny. "But the bedroom part is not the point of the story. The screaming and the blood, that would be the point of the story." She shuddered. "I do know what Dark magic feels like," she said, more quietly. "And it's all over him."

"Did you stay in the bedroom with him?" asked Ron.

"Ron, are you listening to me at all?" snapped Ginny.

"You did, didn't you?" said Ron, looking horrified. "Ginny! Malfoy?"

"I kind of like the sound of that," said his sister, with a sadistic grin.

"Ginny Malfoy."

"Ginny," spluttered Ron. "I want you to tell me right now — promise me — you won't — you wouldn't — not with Malfoy!"

Ginny took a bite of toast and shrugged. "Alas, that our love must be secret," she said.

"Ginny, stop winding Ron up," said Harry, although he was hiding a smile. "Ron, quit being a twit. I'm sure Ginny didn't stay in the room with Malfoy any longer than she had to. Ginny, what do you mean there's Dark Magic all over him? Is he all right?"

Ginny frowned. "It's just a feeling," she said. "Ever since we were in the Chamber of Secrets, I get this cold sort of feeling whenever I'm around Dark magic. I got it from Hermione in Diagon Alley just after she saw Viktor. And I get it from Malfoy, too."

"Well, that's not too surprising," said Ron. "I mean, he's been around Dark magic his whole life. He's a walking Knockturn Alley."

"Maybe," said Harry, who was biting on one knuckle, something he did when he was thinking.

'D'you think he's dangerous?" asked Ron, sounding hopeful.

Somewhat unwillingly, Harry thought of the sword, the Talisman of Purest Evil. And of the surge of cold that had come from Draco's hand when they had performed the Veritas curse on Krum.

"I don't think so," he said.

"Still," said Ron, reaching for the plate of toast, "there's a definite possibility that he's a vicious, cold-blooded — " Ginny squeaked. Ron glanced up and saw Draco standing in the doorway, wearing Mrs.

Weasleys' fuzzy pink sweater and carrying a large green book. "Oh.

Um…piece of toast?" said Ron lamely, offering the plate to Draco.

"I've been called a lot of things in my life," said Draco, looking at the plate. "But never a vicious, cold-blooded piece of toast."

Ron had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry, Malfoy," he muttered. "But Ginny-"

"Told you about last night," said Draco, looking at Ginny with a certain coldness. Ginny looked right back. He had been right about pink, thought Ginny. It was not his color. It went badly with his light coloring and silvery hair, making him resemble nothing so much as an iced pink birthday cake. "I had a nightmare," he said. "So what?"

"I have nightmares all the time," said Harry. "I don't usually wake up covered in blood."

"Covered is kind of strong," said Draco, sitting down at the table.

"More like…splattered."

"Oh, right," said Ron with heavy sarcasm, "Never mind then, it isn't weird at all."

"Exactly," said Draco, ignoring Ron's look of immense irritation, and turned to Harry. "Potter," he said. "I've had an idea." He waved his hand at Ron, who looked as if he was about to say something. "And no sarcastic comments, please."

"Okay," said Harry. "What?"

"The Epicyclical Charm," said Draco. "My Epicyclical Charm. It's never been tested, but theoretically, wherever I am in the world, Hermione can find me by using it. I know she could find me wherever I was at Hogwarts, she used it a couple of times."

"But that's only useful if she's trying to find you," said Harry. "Not the other way around."

"If thereś only one Epicyclical Charm, thatś true," said Draco. He raised the green book he was holding, the object he had Summoned to himself the night before. It was his fatherś copy of Epicyclical Elaborations of Sorcery. "But if we make another Charm, the two Charms can find each other."

Harry, Ron and Ginny stared at him. "Another Epicyclical Charm?"

said Harry faintly. "But isn´t that really complicated and dangerous?"

"Not really," said Draco. "I´m a little too old for it to be very effective, but it should be effective enough for this. And I´ll be giving a part of myself willingly, so that will help."

"Does that mean we get to knock out one of your teeth?" asked Ron, with interest.